Ranunculus nipponicus var. submersus is an aquatic macrophyte; it is known as a wild edible plant in Japan for a long time. In this study, the essential oils from the fresh and dried aerial parts of R. nipponicus var. submersus were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Moreover, important aroma-active compounds were also detected in the oil using GC-olfactometry (GC-O) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Thus, 98 compounds (accounting for 93.86%) of the oil were identified. The major compounds in fresh plant oil were phytol (41.94%), heptadecane (5.92%), and geranyl propionate (5.76%), while those of. Dried plant oil were β-ionone (23.54%), 2-hexenal (8.75%), and dihydrobovolide (4.81%). The fresh and dried oils had the green-floral and citrus-floral odor, respectively. The GC-O and AEDA results show that phenylacetaldehyde (green, floral odor, FD-factor = 8) and β-ionone (violet-floral odor, FD-factor = 8) were the most characteristic odor compounds of the fresh oils. β-Cyclocitral (citrus odor, FD-factor = 64) and β-ionone (violet-floral odor, FD-factor = 64) were the most characteristic odor compounds of the dried oil. These compounds are thought to contribute to the flavor of R. nipponicus var. submersus.

The lipid and fatty acid composition of the muscle of the wild Japanese freshwater eel, Anguilla japonica, was analyzed between the initial and terminal stages of spawning migration to clarify the relationship between lipid physiology and maturation. Triacylglycerols were the only major component in the initial-phase eels, which contained high levels of lipids, while comparatively low triacylglycerol levels were observed in terminal-phase eels (Mariana silvers) at spawning area. Significant levels of plasmalogens were found in its phosphatidylethanolamine, different from other common fish species, which have their little levels. The major fatty acids in A. japonica depot triacylglycerols were 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 16:1n-7, 18:1n-7, 18:1n-9, and 18:2n-6. Noticeable levels of 20:4n-6, EPA, 22:5n-3, and DHA were also found in initial-phase sample TAG at the yellow and initial silver stages. High 18:2n-6 levels in all A. japonica lipids were similar to those in other common freshwater fishes. In all A. japonica tissue phospholipids, high levels of n-6 and n-3 PUFA, such as 20:4n-6, EPA, 22:5n-3, and DHA, were observed except for the matured terminal female sample. High n-6 PUFA levels in terminal-phase samples caught at the spawning area suggest that A. japonica maintains and uses initial fatty acids from inland waters without feeding during long spawning migrations. The post-spawning sample, containing low levels of 20:4n-6 and DHA with unusually high levels of its degradation products (18:3n-6, 20:2n-6, and 18:4n-3), indicates that A. japonica may finally use its most important PUFA as energy for spawning before ending its life.

It is revealed that binding position of fatty acid in triacylglycerol (TAG) deeply relates to the expression of its function. Therefore, we investigated the binding positions of individual trans-octadecenoic acid (trans-C18:1) positional isomers, known as unhealthy fatty acids, on TAG in partially hydrogenated canola oil (PHCO), milk fat (MF), and beef tallow (BT). The analysis was carried out by the sn-1(3)-selective transesterification of Candida antarctica Lipase B and by using a highly polar ionic liquid capillary column for gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. Trans-9-C18:1, the major trans-C18:1 positional isomer, was selectively located at the sn-2 position of TAG in PHCO, although considerable amounts of trans-9-C18:1 were also esterified at the sn-1(3) position. Meanwhile, trans-11-C18:1, the major isomer in MF and BT, was preferentially located at the sn-1(3) position. These results revealed that the binding position of trans-C18:1 positional isomer varies between various fats and oils.

Soxhlet-petroleum ether extraction was used to obtain oil from tomato seeds. Three tomato cultivars from South Italy (Principe Borghese, Rebelion F1 and San Marzano) were studied. Policosanol is a mixture of long chain linear fatty alcohols (n-alkanols), its content and composition was found to be highly significantly influenced by cultivar. Seven fatty alcohols were detected: docosanol (C22-ol), tricosanol (C23-ol), tetracosanol (C24-ol), pentacosanol (C25-ol), hexacosanol (C26-ol), heptacosanol (C27-ol) and octacosanol (C28-ol). The highest policosanol content was found in Principe Borghese 71.88 mg/Kg. Octacosanol was the linear alcohol present in highest quantity, i.e. 38-42% of the total linear alcohols detected in tomato seed oils (TSO). Chemometrics was applied to study the differences among cultivars. The sum of even long chained fatty alcohols was always more than 95% of the total policosanol content. One-way ANOVA and principal component analysis well differentiated the three cultivars.

Several studies have reported that the supplementation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and arachidonic acid (ARA) improve cognitive function in the elderly. However, the doses used in these studies were higher than general dietary LCPUFA intake levels. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the effects of low doses of LCPUFA supplementation corresponding to general dietary intake on cognitive function in non-demented elderly Japanese participants. Japanese men aged 55-64 years were enrolled and randomly allocated to the placebo or LCPUFA group. Participants received 4 weeks of supplementation with LCPUFA-containing oil (DHA, 300 mg/day; EPA, 100 mg/day; and ARA, 120 mg/day) or purified olive oil as placebo. Event-related potential P300, reflecting cognitive processes, was measured before and after supplementation. A total of 113 participants completed the supplementation period, and the per-protocol analysis included 69 participants. Changes in P300 latency were significantly different between the placebo group (+13.6 msec) and the LCPUFA group (-1.8 msec) after supplementation. Significant increases in DHA (+0.9%) and ARA (+0.6%) contents in plasma phospholipids were observed in the LCPUFA group; no changes were observed in the placebo group. Dietary DHA, EPA, and ARA intake were in the normal range for Japan participants and remained unchanged during the study. These results suggest that low doses of LCPUFA supplementation have the potential to improve cognitive function in elderly Japanese men.

The sweet smell of aroma of Jasminum sambac (L.) Ait. is releasing while the flowers are blooming. Although components of volatile oil have been extensively studied, there are problematic issues, such as low efficiency of yield, flavour distortion. Here, the subcritical fluid extraction (SFE) was performed to extract fragrant volatiles from activated carbon that had absorbed the aroma of jasmine flowers. This novel method could effectively obtain main aromatic compounds with quality significantly better than solvent extraction (SE). Based on the analysis data with response surface methodology (RSM), we optimized the extraction conditions which consisted of a temperature of 44°C, a solvent-to-material ratio of 3.5:1, and an extraction time of 53 min. Under these conditions, the extraction yield was 4.91%. Furthermore, the key jasmine essence oil components, benzyl acetate and linalool, increase 7 fold and 2 fold respectively which lead to strong typical smell of the jasmine oil. The new method can reduce spicy components which lead to the essential oils smelling sweeter. Thus, the quality of the jasmine essence oil was dramatically improved and yields based on the key component increased dramatically. Our results provide a new effective technique for extracting fragrant volatiles from jasmine flowers.

Nursing care food, made smooth and soft by adding a substantial amount of water, has been provided to elderly people who exhibit a decline in chewing and swallowing function. However, this is associated with problems such as an increase in the volume of meals and a decrease in the nutritional value per unit weight, causing malnutrition. To resolve these issues, we aimed to develop gelatinous fat suitable for processing nursing care food. We compared several types of oil and fat including this gelatinous fat using rheology measurement and sensory evaluation. In the measurement of fat alone using a dynamic viscoelastometer, the gelatinous fat had the highest values of storage elastic modulus (G’) and loss elastic modulus (G ’) at the predetermined ranges of temperature and frequency. In the measurement of fat mixed with food using a creep meter, the gelatinous fat showed a significantly lower level of firmness and a higher level of cohesiveness than other types of fat. In the sensory evaluation, food processed with gelatinous fat was evaluated to be better than food processed with no addition or the addition of another type of fat in terms of softness, smoothness, low feeling of residual food, and palatability. These results suggest that the newly developed gelatinous fat is most suitable for nursing care food processing among the types of fat examined. It is expected that nursing care food processed with gelatinous fat can facilitate the consumption of food with high energy and reduce the risk of malnutrition in the elderly.

Silica nanotubes are synthesized through a sol-gel reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) using myelin figures of Pluronic P123 as the structure-directing agent. The simultaneous progression of the formation of molecular assemblies that act as templates and the formation of silica frameworks though a sol-gel reaction of the silica precursor is a characteristic of this reaction system. The synthesized silica nanotubes were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The silica nanotubes were unilamellar with diameters of approximately 30 nm, membrane thicknesses of approximately 10 nm, and lengths exceeding a few hundred nanometers. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area was 589.46 m2/g. Silica nanotubes can also be obtained using other Pluronic surfactants that can form myelin figures. In this work, we also investigated the formation mechanism of the silica nanotubes. The typical diameter of a myelin figure is a few tens of micrometers. However, myelin figures with diameters of approximately 10 µm can form in systems with TEOS because bifurcation is induced by minute silica nuclei that form during the initial reaction between TEOS and water. Freeze fracture TEM (FF-TEM) observations revealed the existence of myelin figures with diameters of 20 to 30 nm, which are the same size and shape as the synthesized silica nanotubes. These results indicate that bifurcation of the myelin figures is induced by the silica nuclei that form via the initial reaction of TEOS, which result in the formation of bifurcated myelin figures with diameters of ~10 µm. Myelin figures with diameters of 20 to 30 nm form on the surface, and they become templates where the reaction of TEOS progresses to form silica nanotubes with diameters of approximately 30 nm.

In order to obtain phosphatidylcholine (PC) with higher amount of oleic acid, the interesterification between soybean PC and Camellia oleifera oil (COO) rich in oleic acid catalyzed by lipase was studied in hexane. For this aim three commercially available immobilized lipases (Novozym 435, Lipozyme TLIM and Lipozyme RMIM) were assayed and Novozym 435 was finally selected for further optimization. The effects of the factors, such as PC concentration, substrate ratio, water amount, lipase dosage and temperature, on the oleic acid content in PC and PC recovery during the interesterification were investigated. The conditions of the interesterification were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimum conditions were as follows: lipase dosage 13 % (based on the mass of PC and COO), reaction temperature 55°C, water amount 5% (based on the mass of PC), reaction time 8 h, PC concentration 0.3g/mL (PC/hexane), PC-to-COO ratio 1:3 (acyl groups in PC/acyl groups in COO, mol/mol). Under these conditions, oleic acid content and PC recovery were 40.8 ± 0.5% and 69.0 ± 2.8%, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the regression models were adequate for predicting the interesterifiction. The orders of reaction variables affecting on oleic acid content and PC recovery were water amount > reaction time > lipase dosage > reaction temperature, and water amount > reaction temperature > lipase dosage > reaction time, respectively.

We examined the effects of the dietary intake of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerol (MLCT) on hyperglycemia in diabetic ob/ob mice. Six-week-old male ob/ob mice were fed a diet containing longchain triacylglycerol (LCT) or MLCT for 3 wks. During the dietary treatment, we determined the plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in the fed state once a week. Whereas the body weights did not differ between the two groups, the total intra-abdominal fat mass was significantly higher in the MLCT group compared to the LCT group. The plasma glucose levels in the freely fed state gradually increased during the 3-wk dietary treatment in the LCT but not MLCT group, although the daily food intake did not differ between the two groups. In the fed state, the MLCT group’s plasma glucose was significantly lower and their insulin concentrations were significantly higher than those observed in the LCT group (p<0.01). Plasma glucose concentrations at the end of dietary treatment (3rd wk) were negatively correlated with plasma insulin concentrations (p<0.05) and tended to be inversely related to total intra-abdominal fat mass (p=0.08). These results suggest that the dietary intake of MLCT may delay the progression of hyperglycemia in ob/ob mice, possibly through the stimulation of glucose uptake in intra-abdominal fat tissue caused by enhanced insulin secretion.

The spreading property of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) was investigated in connection with our search for new application in agriculture. The wetting ability of MEL solutions for hydrophobic surfaces was evaluated based on contact angle measurements for several surfactant solutions on abiotic and biotic surfaces. The contact angle of MEL-A solution on a hydrophobic plastic surface at 100 s after placement decreased to 8.4°, and those of other MEL solutions decreased more significantly compared to those of commonly-used nonionic surfactants. In addition, the contact angle of MEL solutions also dropped down to around 10° on various plant leaf surfaces. MEL solutions, in particular, efficiently spread even on poorly wettable Gramineae plant surfaces on which general nonionic surfactant solutions could not. Moreover, the wetting ability of MEL solutions was found to be greatly affected by the structural difference in their carbohydrate configuration. Furthermore, surface pretreatment with MEL solution led to more efficient spreading and fixing of microbial cells onto plant leaf surface compared to several conventional surfactants used in this study. These results suggested that MELs have a potential to use as a natural bio-based spreading agent, particularly as agrochemical spreader for biopesticides.